NORWICH — Cradle & Crayon, which formerly operated a child care center at Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory in Hanover, has announced plans to open two new classrooms.
The new classrooms, located at 251 Route 5 North in Norwich, will serve children ages 2 to 7, according to a message to families this week. The new spaces, combined with classrooms the organization operates next to the Co-op Market on Lyme Road in Hanover, will mean that the organization has at least as many spaces as it did before it closed the CRREL facility, according to Sunday’s message from Cradle & Crayon’s director Brenda Danielson.
Fifty-two children were enrolled in the program at CRREL when it closed in March, CRREL spokesman David Marquis said last month. Cradle & Crayon’s other facility at 45 Lyme Road is licensed for 40 children and has remained open for essential workers throughout the pandemic, Danielson said earlier this month.
Cradle & Crayon’s Norwich classrooms, which are slated to open Aug. 31, will be situated on a campus that also is home to Immersion Montessori School, which offers pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, after-school care and summer camps.
The spots at the new location will first be offered to children who are currently enrolled and then to the broader community, Danielson wrote.
In the meantime, there is an effort led by members of the New Hampshire and Vermont congressional delegations to reopen the child care facility at CRREL. The version of the National Defense Authorization Act that passed the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday included an amendment co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Annie Kuster, D-N.H.; Peter Welch, D-Vt.; and Chris Pappas, D-N.H., that would direct the Army’s Engineering Research and Development Center to reopen all child care facilities it closed in fiscal year 2020, including the CRREL center.
The Senate has not yet taken up the measure.